[sbe-eas] Interesting Dissertation on EAS

[Richard Rudman]

I was also interviewed.

So, that accounts for three interviewees not mentioned by name.

I can make at least one educated guess on another.

Richard


On Jan 7, 2011, at 3:06 PM, Rob Dale wrote:


> http://tinyurl.com/eas-dissert

> 

> EFFICIENCY OF THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

> 

> by Rita Marie Kepner, Ph.D.

> Washington State University

> December 2010

> 

> Scholars, emergency workers, and the general public have noted failures in

> disaster communication over the last decade. Communication breakdowns

> following catastrophic events have been categorized, defined and studied

> in a variety of ways most often focusing on the effectiveness of the

> communication - do people take the right actions? But what about the

> efficiency of the system - do people actually receive the communication?

> This study focused on one narrow type of disaster communication: disaster

> warnings as embodied in the emergency alert system (EAS). Inspired by

> reports of some unrelayed EAS warnings, this researcher explored the

> efficiency of the EAS by using in-depth interviews with EAS technicians

> from western states to seek understanding of why some urgent warnings have

> not been relayed. The introduction and review of the literature indicate

> that some EAS messages have not been relayed as one might expect, and

> people have been seriously injured and in some cases, deaths have

> occurred. The design of this dissertation study was guided by a basic

> communication model and Kantian Capitalism theory. These perspectives

> suggest broadcasters would consistently relay warnings such as "tsunami

> coming; run now" even though, in our capitalistic system, the broadcast

> time is costly.

> 

> Study results indicate that the federally regulated EAS system is

> inefficient for a variety of reasons, including the cost of broadcast

> time. Evidence shows that the EAS will remain inefficient in spite of or

> perhaps because of ongoing complex Kantian Capitalistic efforts now

> underway. Making dire warnings mandatory would improve efficiency.

> Required training and agreed upon criteria could improve efficiency. New

> technology with common protocol can improve efficiency, for some. However,

> there is a lack of strong leadership at the national, state, and local

> levels and that leadership continues to be challenged by constitutional

> issues and the structure the broadcast corporations in our U.S. public

> warning system. Results of this study provide opportunity for further

> research and challenges for public policy development.

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